Twinkle 24 / Brainstorming scenario
Children and AI: safe design before damage control
Make child safety a design requirement in publicly purchased AI and press for enforceable wider standards. Reduce manipulative features and provide human help when a child encounters harmful conduct.
Children need useful technology and a dependable adult response. Local access and learning would have to include safety, privacy and the ability to challenge a harmful interaction.
Explore the connected work
- C-Hour: civic AI - Useful community learning, local information and participation alongside paid specialist work. Source repository
- Ready S.E.T. Co-op intelligence node - A rack-scale community computing proposal, local learning, cultural permissions and links to the submissions. Source repository
How it could work
- Test age-appropriate defaults and high-risk interactions independently before procurement.
- Require accessible reporting, timely human escalation and clear school/provider responsibilities.
- Publish aggregate incidents and fixes, and involve young people and carers in usability reviews without collecting unnecessary identity information.
Everyday example
A student can report a harmful chatbot exchange and reach a responsible adult without being sent through several anonymous forms.
Who could act and how it could be funded
National platform rules and state education procurement need coordination. Fund independent testing, staff capability and response teams as part of the service, rather than paying only for software access.
Fair-go safeguards
No unnecessary child surveillance or public incident histories. Safeguards must work for disabled children and diverse families. Education access should not require unrelated commercial profiling.
What would show progress
Time to human help; high-risk failures corrected; privacy exposure; accessible reporting; young people's experience.